1. Field of the Invention
The present generally relates to commoning electrical connectors which mate with an array of pins.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Many electronic devices today are being designed with an increased number of components which are adapted to be mounted on a printed circuit board. As a result, space on a printed circuit board is one of the prime design considerations when attempting to lay out the location of various components thereon.
One type of component frequently found on printed circuit boards are square wire pins. Some pins have a nominal dimension of 0.045 inches and are adapted to be force fit through punched holes in the printed circuit board. After the pins are inserted into the printed circuit board, they are wave soldered to provide an electrical connection between the pins and the circuitry formed on the board.
Along with miniaturization, came the advent of 0.025 inch square wire pins. The advantage of the smaller pin is that a smaller mating female connector could be used. Thus, less printed circuit board area would be required. Frequently, pin arrays are typically mated with a female or pin-receiving connector, employing mass termination techniques. Generally speaking, female connectors of this type include a housing made of insulation material having parallel top and bottom rows of elongated terminal receiving cavities, each cavity having a pin receiving opening in a forward end and a wire receiving opening at the rearward end. The pin receiving opening has the safe configuration as the multi-row pin array. A plurality of terminals are provided for mounting in the cavities, each terminal having a pin engaging portion at the forward end and a wire engaging portion at the rearward end.
However, electrical connection outside of an electronic component having a pin array is not always required. Sometimes the pin array is provided as a convenient means of programming or otherwise selectively adapting an electronic circuit by completing the connection between two or more pins. At other times, pin terminals must be electrically connected together to handle a larger current flow, or to distribute a signal among several different circuit portions, for example. In the past, terminals have been shunted through jumper wires having pin receiving connectors mounted at each end thereof. This arrangement is flexible, particularly if the distance between rows of pins is not equal to the centerline spacing of pins in a given row.
However, a simple one-piece shunt connector would make pin identification easier, and would expedite assembly of the electronic component.